“that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,”1 Peter 1:7 Talking about refinement, John Bevere says, “God puts us through the process because he is more concerned about us finishing well than starting well.” Refinement is a product of grace and grace is God’s doing.
I have a 9-carat gold wedding ring on my finger. When I look at it, it appears to be gold but, in fact, my ring has only nine parts gold out of 24 parts. The remaining 15 parts comprise other metals such as nickel, tin, silver and zinc. These metals are not as dense as gold. Therefore, if my ring was to be smelted in a crucible the gold would sink to the bottom while all the unwanted metals would float to the top. I could then take a ladle and scoop off the 15 parts of impurity and be left with 9 parts pure 24-carat gold.
Sometimes difficulties in life can prove to be your crucible immersed in a furnace of fire. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego knew what it was like to face difficulty. They had denied the king’s edict to bow to a statue and were cast into a super-heated furnace. The king expected them to be incinerated but when he gazed into the fire he did not see three men, he saw four. The Lord himself was in the fire with Shadrach, Meshach, andAbed-Nego. Charles Spurgeon said, “As sure as God puts his children in the furnace, he will be in the furnace with them.”
That’s God’s grace. Grace is God’s doing and grace rescues us from harm. When apostle Paul underwent this process, the Lord said to him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” Refinement is a product of grace and grace is God’s doing.